1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-channel body having a large number of passages for flowing fluids therethrough and more particularly to a multi-channel body which is highly effective as a heat exchanger, filtrating device, permeator, separating membrane, filter, cooler, catalyst support, various reactors, package and the like. This multi-channel body has excellent heat transfer properties, mass transfer properties and the like, because the entire circumference of the partition walls which form independent channels acts as a contacting area between different fluids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, the multi-channel bodies having a honeycomb structure have been broadly known as described in for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open Application No. 42,386/1972. These multi-channel bodies composed of a honeycomb structure are provided with a large number of parallel channels 1 having a cross-sectional shape of polygons, such as triangular, tetragonal, hexagonal etc. or circular, which are formed by continuous partition walls 2 composed of a ceramic material, such as alumina, mullite, cordierite and the like as shown in FIG. 1 of said prior art. When such a multi-channel body is used for a heat exchanger as described in Japanese Patent Laid Open Application No. 84,448/1976 or 102,891/1980, a structure in which alternate rows of channels 1' are air-tightly sealed at an end face 3 where the channels 1 are opened and the end portions of the sealed channels 1' are communicated to openings 5 provided at a face perpendicularly intersected with the above described end face 3.
However, in the heat exchanger using such a honeycomb structured multi-channel body, as shown in FIG. 2, even when a heat transfer medium (referred to as "hot fluid" hereinafter) having a high temperature is flowed into channels 1 opened at one end face 3 as shown in arrows A and B and a fluid having a low temperature (referred to as "cool fluid" hereinafter) to which the heat is transmitted, is flowed into channels 1' communicating from openings 5 on a face 4 perpendicularly intersected with the end face 3 to openings 5' on another face 4 as shown by arrows C and D. FIG. 3 shows schematically the cross-section of the channels 1 and 1' and the heat transfer of the hot fluid flowing in the channels 1 is highly effected to partition walls 2 toward the channels 1' flowing the cool fluid, that is in the direction of the arrows a and b and the heat is transmitted from the hot fluid in the channels 1 to the cool fluid in the channels 1', but is not substantially transmitted to the direction of the adjacent channels 1 flowing the same hot fluid, that is to the direction of the arrows c and d. Thus, in the prior honeycomb structured multi-channel body wherein the cross-sectional shape of the channels 1 is tetragonal as shown in FIGS. 1-3, the heat of the hot fluid flowing in the channels 1 is transmitted only to two sides among four sides of partition walls, that is to the direction of the arrows a and b and the heat to the direction of the arrows c and d is not used at all for the heat exchange.
Namely, in the prior honeycomb structured multi-channel body, only some of the partition walls 2 surrounding the channels 1 are utilized for heat transfer, so that the contact area between the passage for flowing the hot fluid and the passage for flowing the cool fluid is small and the heat exchanging effectiveness is low.
Furthermore, even when the prior multi-channel body is used as a gas separating membrane, filtrating device and the like, only some of the partition walls surrounding the channels 1 are utilized, so that the contact area between the channels 1 and the channels 1' is small and the effectiveness is low, and the adjacent channels 1 and 1' commonly possess partition walls 2, so that such a multi-channel body does not have much flexibility in its structure and the structure has a poor thermal shock resistance.